Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are nutritionally adequate and are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.A vegetarian diet can provide adequate protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and calcium intake, though these nutrients can be relatively low in poorly planned vegetarian diets, particularly when not enough calories are consumed.
Evidence suggests that vegetarians have lower rates of coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes,osteoporosis,and dementia.Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in carbohydrates, omega-6 fatty acids, dietary fibre, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium. They are generally low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein.